And then there are the posers. -Applebits

At first all I could hear was a soft yet very sweet sound coming from a distant place, like angels singing praise to a fallen hero of something, then the sound grew closer and I tried to open my eyes. A wave of pain stopped me and I let out a muffled scream as it overwhelmed me, rather quickly I remembered what had just transpired with the flamethrower and Bulls Eye's bravery leading to our freedom.

"Easy Applebits don't move." the same silky voice I now recognized as Shadow Star's said from far away, or was she closer than I thought.

I felt a gentle hoof stroke my mane which felt dry and singed and I breathed in slowly before the pegasus picked me up and laid me on a mattress that they must have pulled out of one of the buildings. I tried to open my eyes and the same pain came, but this time I pushed through it and managed to get my left eye open. Shadow Star's head was inches away from mine and yet before I could barely hear her, behind her I could see the two fillies playing with each other and Cotton Candy looting the dead bodies of the slavers.

"Try not to move too much, your entire right side is badly burned, I'm going to roll you back onto your left now okay?" she said making it sound like she was the medic.

"Do what you've got to, just make it so I can see a little please." I said my voice sounding hoarse.

"Okay Applebits, I will try." she said with uncertainty.

I remained silent since it hurt to talk and let the mare roll me back over onto my left side, luckily she rolled me over enough that I could see Bulls Eye at the end of the buildings clad in his armor and staring off towards the distance. I also noticed that the cage with the other prisoner was still hanging above us, grunting I moved my left hoof and pointed to the cage hopeful that they would understand what I was trying to say. My actions were interrupted when Shadow lifted up my head and let me drink from my canteen, coughing a little she removed it from my lips and I drifted off to sleep again.

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Waking back up to the sound of my long time partner that I started this journey with yelling at somepony I quickly widened my eye as he blew apart a building. I saw raiders run for cover as he shot another round before he jumped behind cover himself, Shadow was on the wall next to me with her pistol in her mouth and her two sisters behind her with looks of pure terror on their faces.

"I said beat it you bastards!" Bulls Eye yelled as he again dashed from his cover and blasted a raiders cover to dust, splattering him with shrapnel from both the wooden cart and the shell.

Shadow jumped from her cover and let off four shots killing a single raider with the one shot that hit before she ducked behind the wall again. Bulls Eye saw the raiders getting closer to us as he apple bucked ones head clean off their shoulders and charged at the three near us.

"Aint no pony gonna hurt my friends ya lousy varmints!" Bulls Eye cried as his combat shotgun tore the raiders apart.

"That's how we did it back in my day pal." Bulls Eye said to the dead raiders as he slowly walked back to us.

"Where did you learn to shoot?" Shadow asked him once he gave the all clear.

"Oh, well I just picked up a gun while on duty and killed a few striped sob's and got my cutiemark, so I guess I'm just a good aim." he replied with his crooked smile before a loud bang sounded off and blew off his right fore leg.

"Bulls Eye!" I screamed and then proceeded to cough up blood.

"Hooves up and wings in if you want those fillies to live." Cotton Candy said from directly behind me.

"The cage!" I said before going into another coughing fit as more blood came up.

"Shut up you!" Cotton Candy sneered before shooting me in the leg, only to receive a loud ping since the bullet pierced my mechanical leg as it began to hiss.

Shadow took this chance, as the fillies both ran behind a piece of cover, to go up to the cage and shoot the chain causing it to fall and bust open. The dust was thick around the mysterious pony that had emerged from the cage, billowing up about its body so that I could only barely see its outline. However it was standing tall, darker and ominous as its head tilted and turned back toward the cage to where Shadow likely still was. I saw a faint nod, indicating thanks of some sort before returning its attention to me. No, that couldn't be right. It was looking in this direction, but it was as though I could feel the intensity of its gaze and it clearly wasn't on me. Rather, I sensed that perhaps it was focused on Cotton Candy, who was looking into the dust with an agitated glare as she raised her weapon again and aimed it towards it.

What came out of the dust at this provocation quite honestly was a shock to me; despite all I'd seen before in the wasteland, this pony easily outdid all the ghouls I'd seen previously. He was tall, as I'd suspected; but his stature now that he was closer almost towered over both myself and Cotton Candy. His body was marred with sutured gashes, almost patchwork across his grayish pallor of fur and skin. They were a deep, somewhat colorful red, and the one on his left foreleg was still bleeding profusely. His wings were both stitched as though they'd been ripped away before; and at his throat the skin was peeled away and stitched in place to reveal the large bones of his throat. His eyes were both gashed straight down, but had been sutured in the same style and were staring back into Cotton Candy's. Those eyes, a glowering red, alike to his bloody flesh and muscle stitched back; they were almost haunting and empty, except for what I could detect as anger. His muzzle stitched closed, and his ears were both bloody stumps. Its mane was long, flowing in a perfect straight cut in the front and trimmed short down his neck. His tail was long and flowing, both the two were varying layers of deep green; yet the tail had flesh torn and bone jutting out at places.

I watched, silently, as the mysterious ghoul pony took a step forward. That was when Cotton Candy fired, her shot put off by the unexpectedness of this pony's appearance as it hit it squarely in the chest. The ghoul back stepped once, seemingly affected; yet within moments it stepped forward again and this time was far closer. The injury plain on its chest, oozing blood and yet it wasn't deterred in the slightest as it came to a stop a few hoofsteps away. It was then that the ghoul rose up, standing on its hind legs and now fully towering over us both as it assumed an odd stance. In the time it took me to blink, it was there; in front of Cotton Candy and smashing into her lower jaw with a barrage of vicious punches and sending her back. It quickly followed up with a few furious blows from the sides, and lastly ended with a surprising twist before bucking hard and shoving her away harshly.

I strained to look up and whispered; hoping it could hear me or understand. "Thanks."

Getting a nod, I was surprised that a ghoul so seemingly far gone could understand me before its attention returned just in time for Cotton Candy to smash its jaw hard. I watched as it leaned back, head tilted up to the sky and the sound of bone snapping and sutures loosening could be heard from its muzzle. When Cotton Candy drew back, she was grinning furiously as she peppered its body with punches before stepping back fully and admiring her work.

It was then that I watched as the ghoul brought its head back down, its eyes so full of undisguised hatred; but also amusement now as it took a hoof and snapped its slightly hinging jaw back in place before reaching over and re-tightening the sutures around its muzzle. I'd watched Cotton before, and I knew there was no way even a ghoul should be able to stand up after this; but here this pony stood, almost unfazed except for the slight trickle of blood from its lips and neck sutures that had opened slightly. Now, I observed as the pony surged forward and slammed into Cotton Candy with its shoulder. Quickly, with a military efficiency I saw it spin around before bringing a hoof down with a precise, harsh chop to her neck. Cotton hit the ground, and before she could move the ghoul towered over her and wrapped a hoof around her throat and placed a hind leg on her back before he hauled up sharply. The sound of flesh and metal ripping was almost instant, and it grated harshly on my ears as I painfully endured before seeing it slam her face back down on the ground. Bringing her back up again and down again and again before finally finished with a sickening snap as he tore her head clean off and tossed it away.

With deep, body-shaking breaths, it dismounted from its position on the remains of Cotton Candy. Walking still now on its hind legs, it paused beside me and looked me over with a wary gaze before its head snapped to Shadow. With a hoof, it gestured to come here before pointing at me and Bulls Eye and then walking away where it stood next to my downed friend. My last sight before finally passing back out was of it, first gazing out protectively at the horizon and then back to meeting my gaze as Shadow rushed back to my side.

Author's Notes:

Okay so as the title states our group here was betrayed, but thanks to a ghoul pony they were saved. You have the co author of my other fic (who also wrote a little of this chapter as I didn't know what to expect from his OC here) to thank for the kick ass new character. Oh and we now have two badly hurt ponies, lets see what happens next shall we?